


Some Kind of Rom-Com

by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel



Series: Secret Superwoman [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Courtship, Crack, F/M, Secret Identity, Superheroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-11
Updated: 2014-04-11
Packaged: 2018-01-18 23:28:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1446865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel/pseuds/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“Cap!” Tony said through the comm. “What’s going on? You okay?”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“I’m okay,” said Steve. “A young lady in a costume just rescued me. She flew,” he added, since that seemed like relevant information.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“She was in costume?” Natasha sounded alert.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“That’s right,” Steve agreed. “She said her name was Kal-El.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“She said what?” Clint exclaimed.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Tony started laughing, and Steve wondered what he’d missed.</i>
  <br/>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Some Kind of Rom-Com

The first that Steve knew of New York’s newest superhero was in the middle of a fight against a bunch of Doombots. Usually they weren’t too difficult to defeat, but Doom had apparently given them upgrades, because they seemed a lot more durable than usual. Steve had ended up fighting a group of them by himself as the other Avengers dealt with their own Doombots. At one point he was flung into a decimated wall, hard enough for the rest of the wall to collapse on him. He groaned in pain and irritation.

“Guys, I could use a little help,” he groaned into the comm.

“Bit busy, Cap!” Clint hollered.

“What happened?” Natasha asked crisply.

“A wall fell on me,” Steve said ruefully. He tried to move, and winced as he felt a fragment of wall land on his leg, hard. He decided he was better off staying still until one of the others came and unburied him. “I’m stuck.”

“Give me a minute,” said Tony, “just let me deal with this –” He broke off, swearing.

So Steve lay there buried under rubble, and hoped that the others would be free to help him soon.

Some of the rubble covering him suddenly lightened in weight, and a moment later he could see sunlight, as someone pulled bits of brick and concrete off him. Steve sat up, pushing away rubble, and blinked up to find that the person helping him was unfamiliar. It was a young woman, wearing blue tights and a short red skirt, and a long-sleeved blue shirt with a stylised red ‘S’ on the front. She was also wearing a red cape. A red domino mask hid part of her face.

“Hey there,” she chirped cheerfully, offering Steve a hand up. He took it, and was hoisted to his feet. “Alright, Captain?”

“I’m fine,” Steve told her. “Just a bit bruised, I think.”

The Doombots converged on them then, and they were both busy for the next few minutes hitting and throwing robots. Steve saw his companion punch right _through_ a Doombot’s head, leaving it destroyed.

When their cluster of Doombots was neutralised, and there didn’t seem to be any more Doombots to deal with, Steve turned back to his rescuer.

“Thanks,” he said. “I’m Captain America.”

Beneath the domino mask Steve saw her smile.

“You can call me Kal-El, Captain.”

And without another word she shot up into the sky, and out of sight.

“Cap!” Tony said through the comm. “What’s going on? You okay?”

“I’m okay,” said Steve. “A young lady in a costume just rescued me. She flew,” he added, since that seemed like relevant information.

“She was in costume?” Natasha sounded alert.

“That’s right,” Steve agreed. “She said her name was Kal-El.”

“She said _what?_ ” Clint exclaimed.

Tony started laughing, and Steve wondered what he’d missed.

* * *

By that afternoon, photos of ‘Kal-El,’ or Superwoman as everyone was calling her, were all over the internet. There she was, in her cheap blue-and-red spandex costume, pulling rubble off Steve. By this point everyone had filled Steve in on the joke, and he knew why Tony had laughed.

To be fair, Steve hadn’t read a Superman comic strip or heard a Superman radio play in years (although apparently there were films and TV programmes as well, now) and Steve wasn’t sure he’d even heard Superman’s birth name spoken at all. That didn’t stop the others from poking fun at him (Tony in particular), but Steve didn’t really mind.

“Wow, Cap, you didn’t say Superwoman was hot,” Clint whistled, when he saw the photos on Instagram. “Check out her – _ow! Dammit, Nat!_ ”

Natasha removed her stiletto heel from Clint’s instep, and looked demure.

Superwoman _was_ a very shapely young lady, Steve admitted in the privacy of his own mind, and the costume didn’t hide that fact. Nonetheless, he didn’t think that Clint’s comment was very respectful, and sent a disapproving stare in his direction.

“Who is she really, is the question,” said Tony, peering closer at the computer screen. “Also, how likely are DC to sue because breach of copyright?”

“They’d sue someone for dressing up in costume?” Steve wondered. Tony shrugged.

“This is DC Comics, so who knows.”

“I’m more interested in how she got her powers,” Bruce mused.

No one had an answer for him.

* * *

The next time that Steve met Superwoman/Kal El he was acting strictly as Steve Rogers, not Captain America.  He was out for his early morning jog, enjoying the sounds of his city stirring to life, when he heard yelling up ahead. Putting on speed, Steve rounded the corner in time to see a man sprinting away from a downed fellow jogger, who was sprawled out on the concrete like they’d been pushed.

“Hey!” yelled the jogger. “Thief!” He climbed to his feet, wincing.

Steve was ready to run after the thief, but it wasn’t necessary. There was a red-and-blue blur, and suddenly the thief was being suspended in mid-air by a floating woman in costume.

“Hey, asshole, give the man back his wallet,” Superwoman ordered, shaking the thief slightly for emphasis. The rattled thief only spat something  obscene, and Steve joined the small group of people.

“That’s no way to talk to a lady,” he told the thief. He nodded at Superwoman. “Ma’am.”

“Captain, she said, and Steve didn’t need to see the curve of her smile to know it was there: he could hear it in her voice. “Nice to see you again, dude.”

The thief, still dangling in mid-air, tried to punch the arm holding him, and yelled in pain.

“Serves you right for trying to hit a lady,” Steve told him.

“Serves him right for trying to hit _anyone_ ,” Superwoman corrected.

“Uh, can I have my wallet back, please?” asked the jogger. Superwoman shook the thief again.

“Come on, asshat, give it up already. Or do we need to take this down to the police station, huh?”

Snarling, the thief threw the wallet at its owner. Superwoman promptly dropped him on the concrete. The thief swore one last time, and took off running.

“Thanks,” said the jogger, looking bemused but grateful, and resumed jogging. Steve and Superwoman were left staring at each other.

“So,” said Superwoman, “I –”

“Let me buy you breakfast,” Steve blurted, without any grace whatsoever. “Or a coffee. Something.”

 _Smooth, punk_ , said a little voice in his head. It sounded treacherously like Bucky. Steve did his best to ignore it, and tried desperately to sound like he wasn’t completely hopeless.

“I mean, if you’re not busy, or anything –” he continued, and finally came to a stammering halt under the power of Superwoman’s raised eyebrow. He felt himself blushing hotly, and despaired of himself.

“Wow,” said Superwoman. “You’re not good at this, are you?” Then: “Sure, why not.”

“Really?” Steve asked, before he could stop himself. “Uh– that is –”

“You’re adorable,” said Superwoman, patting him on the arm. “Come on, let’s find somewhere decent to eat, and you can buy me breakfast.”

* * *

They ended up getting breakfast at a local diner Steve had been to a few times. The food was cheap by modern standards (although to Steve it still seemed horrifically expensive, thanks to seventy years of inflation), and it tasted pretty good, Steve thought, even if he was accustomed to army rations.

“A diner?” said Superwoman, as she took a seat on one side of the booth, still in full costume. She got more than a few stares, but paid no attention to the way everyone in the diner was looking at her. “Really? This is your idea of high cuisine?”

Steve felt his face heat, and began to reconsider.

“If you want to go somewhere else –”

“No, this’ll do,” Superwoman interrupted him, picking up a menu and glancing at it. “It’s been ages since I had a proper burger. Ooh, they do milkshakes! Yum.”

Steve ordered his usual burger, while Superwoman ordered two burgers and a milkshake. She saw Steve’s expression.

“What, I burn a lot of calories, I need to eat – don’t tell me you don’t have a super-appetite, the way you run around punching things –”

“It’s not that,” said Steve, breaking into the flow of words. He felt a little dazed by the force of Superwoman’s personality. “It’s just that women don’t seem to eat any more – that came out wrong,” he interrupted himself. “I don’t mean – women can eat what they like, sure, it’s just that every woman I meet now seems to be on a diet or, or counting calories, or something. I don’t mean to sound judgemental. I was just surprised. Most girls I know don’t seem to eat enough to keep themselves alive. I know that sounds rude –”

“It kind of does,” Superwoman agreed. “But it’s okay. I get what you’re trying to say. You think women should just eat when they’re hungry, and ignore other concerns, right?”

Hesitantly, Steve nodded. Superwoman snorted.

“Yeah, see, it doesn’t work like that, because for every woman who wants to do that there’s a guy who’s willing to tell her she has a fat ass. Or another woman, women can be judgey too. And even strong women can find the constant hate-fest is more than they want to deal with, so…” Superwoman shrugged. “They watch their weight.”

“That’s terrible,” Steve said, quietly appalled.

“That’s life for you,” Superwoman said philosophically. “Don’t get me wrong, it makes me mad, but give me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, etcetera. Besides, it kind of doesn’t apply to me, considering I can eat like, my own weight in food and still look like this. I mean, look at me.” She gestured at herself, and Steve flushed slightly at the reminder of what she looked like in the tight-fitting clothing.

“Uh –”

“Or don’t, if it’s going to give you like an apoplexy or something,” Superwoman added, grinning.

Fortunately their food was delivered right then, saving Steve from the necessity of a reply. The two of them ate companionably, in silence. Steve kept trying to think of things to say and then thinking better of it, on the grounds that whatever he said would probably come out nowhere near as suave as he wanted it to.

He finished his burger first, and waited politely as Superwoman got started on her second burger.

“Stop watching me eat,” she said, through a mouthful. “It’s unnerving.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Steve redirected his gaze to the booth tabletop. He heard Superwoman sigh.

“Who knew Captain America was secretly this awkward?” she asked aloud. “Dude, relax. You look like you’d be more comfortable storming a Nazi base, or something.”

“I probably would be,” Steve had to admit. His answer made Superwoman laugh. It was a nice laugh, he thought.

Superwoman finished both burgers and got started on her milkshake.

“What’s it like being an Avenger, anyway?” she asked, in between sips. Steve shrugged.

“It’s okay, I guess. It’s nice having a team I can count on.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Superwoman agreed. “Although I’m kind of a one-woman team myself. Still, it’d be nice to have someone to fight evil with.” She snorted, apparently at herself.

“Well,” said Steve, in what he hoped was a casual way, “you could always join the Avengers.”

Superwoman pointed at him accusingly.

“Is _that_ what this is about? Recruiting me? And here I thought maybe you were asking me on a date.”

Steve’s mind went blank. Superwoman huffed when he didn’t answer.

“Figures. The answer’s no, I don’t want to join your mostly-boy band.” She finished off her milkshake. “Thanks for the breakfast.” She headed for the door.

“Wait,” said Steve, “I didn’t –” But the diner door swung shut behind her. Through the glass he watched as she launched herself up into the sky.

“You blew that big-time,” observed the kid in the next booth sagely. His dad shushed him.

“Yeah,” Steve sighed morosely. “I did, didn’t I.”

* * *

Over the next few months sightings of Superwoman became pretty common. She didn’t seem to go beyond New York much, but inside it, she became a well-known sight. She even fought alongside the Avengers a couple of times, but before Steve could get near enough to apologise or explain himself she was always gone, moving on to whatever she did when she wasn’t helping people and fighting things. It made him feel depressed.

Finally, though, the third time that Superwoman helped the Avengers, Steve had the chance to yell “Kal-El! Wait!”

To his surprise, she did.

“Oh my God, you _actually_ called me Kal-El,” she exclaimed, through snorts of laughter. Steve didn’t care, too pleased that she’d stayed.

“That’s what you told me to call you,” he pointed out. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the other Avengers staring at them.

“I _know,_ but I didn’t expect you to actually _do_ it!” Superwoman sounded highly amused.

“About last time,” said Steve. “It wasn’t – I wasn’t trying to recruit you. Not really.”

“So it _was_ a date, then?” Superwoman asked suspiciously. Flushing, Steve nodded embarrassedly.

“I’m just – I’m really not good at that sort of thing. Can you forgive me?”

Superwoman tilted her head to one side and eyed him up and down appraisingly. It made Steve flush even brighter, but he let her look.

“For abs like those, I’m pretty sure,” she said at last, and Steve heard Clint and Tony hoot with laughter through the comm. “And also because it’s actually genuinely sad that you are that bad with dates, and clearly you need more experience.”

“So does that mean… you’d be willing to have dinner with me?” Steve asked hopefully. Superwoman gave him a long look.

“Let’s try coffee, first,” she suggested. “Are you done here?”

There was still a debriefing and lots of paperwork to do, but Steve said, “Sure.”

“Sweet. Then let’s go, I know a place that does a mean cappuccino.”

Steve turned to the group of Avengers, all of whom were blatantly listening in.

“Uh, guys –” he began.

“Go, we’ll cover for you,” said Tony. “Skipping a debrief for a hot date, I’m so proud.”

“Fare thee well, Captain!” Thor boomed. Hulk gave a loud roar.

“Right,” said Steve lamely. Turning away from his team mates before they could offer any more embarrassing encouragement, he turned to Superwoman and offered her his arm. “Shall we?”

He was rewarded with a smirk.

“I see you’re not totally devoid of moves, after all,” she teased, and tucked her arm into his.

If Steve’s answering smile was a little goofy, well, who could blame him, really?

* * *

The sight of Captain America and Superwoman waiting in line for coffee earned a lot of stares, and Steve saw people taking photos on their tiny telephones. He tried not to let on how uncomfortable it made him feel.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” Superwoman said loudly, in response to the stares. Several people followed her advice. Steve shifted awkwardly.

“So, uh, what do you do when you’re not defending truth, justice, and the American way?” he asked, and Superwoman laughed.

“Oh, wow, you do not even want to know,” she responded. “Seriously, my life outside the spandex? So boring. I’m just someone’s assistant, that’s all. It’s not even worth mentioning. What about you, what do you do when _you’re_ not defending truth, justice and the American way?”

“I draw, sometimes,” said Steve.

“Yeah?” Superwoman looked interested.

“Yeah. I wanted to go to art school, before the war, but it cost too much. Didn’t stop me from drawing, though.”

“That’s cool,” said Superwoman thoughtfully. “It’s nice that you’ve got something to do when you’re not doing the whole hero gig. It’s good to have a hobby.”

“Superwoman!” called a voice from the counter, and Superwoman said, “Oh, that’s me,” and pushed through the crowd to get her cappuccino. ‘Captain America’ was called a moment later, and Steve collected his coffee and joined Superwoman at a small table.

“Listen, I know we only just got here, but I’ve got to get back to work before my boss notices I’m gone,” said Superwoman, in a rush. “I know this doesn’t really count as a date, and I’m sorry. Next time we can make it longer?”

“Sure,” said Steve. “Next time.”

“Great!” Superwoman leaned across the table and kissed him on the cheek. Steve heard camera-shutter noises from people’s phones. The next moment Superwoman was out the door, coffee in hand, leaving Steve alone at the table.

He suppressed the urge to touch his cheek, and smiled in spite of himself.

Huh.

“Next time,” he repeated, and drank his coffee.

* * *

Fury was not amused to discover that Steve was courting a rogue superhero.

“With all due respect,” he said, looking at Steve piercingly with his one eye, “you know nothing about this woman, Captain. Her threat level needs to be assessed.”

“I think Cap’s happier assessing her hotness level,” said Tony, and looked innocent when Fury glared at him. Fury glared a moment longer, before transferring his gaze back to Steve.

“I understand your concerns, sir,” said Steve, “but Superwoman has given no indication that she’s a threat. I think that assuming that she is one is premature.”

“Which is why you decided that the best course of action was to ask her on a _date_ ,” Fury finished for him, sounding exasperated.

“I felt that the Avengers would benefit from a positive relationship –” Steve began to lie, but Fury cut him off with a wave of one hand.

“Don’t try and bullshit me, Rogers. That was _not_ what you were thinking, and we all know it.” He sighed deeply. “Fine.  You can date ‘Superwoman.’” From his tone of voice, it was clear that Fury didn’t appreciate the fact that he had to deal with a woman with super-human abilities who fought crime while dressed as a fictional superhero. “But I expect you to report any negative behaviour, any information on her powers and abilities to SHIELD, do you understand?”

“Yes sir,” Steve replied politely. “I understand.”

Fury sighed again.

“Get out of my sight, all of you.”

The Avengers trailed out of the briefing room. Once they were out of Fury’s sight, Natasha gave Steve a steady look.

“He’s right, you know. This could all be a trap.”

“The good soldier is wary, to be sure, but doubting one’s allies rarely leads to victory,” Thor said gravely. “This Superwoman has fought valiantly beside us. I say that we give her the benefit of the doubt.”

“Besides, are we really hard-hearted enough to deny Cap the chance to get laid for the first time in ninety years?” Tony wondered. “Cap, I am totally on your side on this one.”

“Uh, thanks?”

“Ten bucks says she and Cap go all the way,” said Clint.

“ _Clint!_ ”

“You’re on, my friend,” Tony declared, and he and Clint got into a discussion of odds. Steve sighed. Natasha patted his arm sympathetically.

“Five on it happening before Christmas,” she called out to Tony, and ignored Steve’s betrayed look.

“So,” asked Bruce quietly, as he joined Steve, “do you actually know anything about this girl?”

* * *

“I hear you’re dating Superwoman,” said Dr Foster’s assistant, the one time she accompanied Dr Foster to the Tower.

“Does everyone know about that?” Steve asked.

“Since Thor knows, I’m pretty sure,” said Dr Foster’s assistant. She seemed oddly familiar for some reason. “He’s not exactly the soul of discretion. Do you like her?”

“Well, I don’t know her real well,” Steve confessed, “but she seems pretty nice. Yeah,” he added, belatedly answering the question he’d actually been asked, “I like her a lot.”

“That’s great,” said Dr Foster’s assistant, looking pleased. Steve would have asked why, but just then Dr Foster asked her assistant for the laptop computer she was carrying, and the two of them were too busy doing something with the computer for Steve to feel polite interrupting. So he wandered off to check on Tony in the workshop instead, and the incident left his mind.

* * *

One afternoon, out of curiosity, Steve entered the word ‘Superwoman’ into Google. A number of photos of Superwoman came up, as well as some drawings, and a list of websites. Steve clicked on the first one, which called itself ‘Superwoman All The Way.’

It turned out to be a collection of photographs and alleged Superwoman sightings. Steve scrolled down, looking at the dozens of photographs of Superwoman. In some of them she was on her own, such as the photo where she appeared to be rescuing a kitten from a large dog, but there were a number of photos that showed her fighting alongside the Avengers. Then there were the photos of her with Steve. Some of them clearly came from their diner visit or their coffee date, but one was from after the last time they’d fought together, when Steve was talking to Superwoman about their misunderstanding. Steve himself wore a bashful smile, while Superwoman’s expression was full of light and laughter, giving her an animated look even though she was standing still.

Steve looked at it for several minutes, appreciating the photo with an artist’s eye. Then he quietly saved the image to My Documents.

He didn’t really know Superwoman, that was true. But he really wanted to get the chance to.

* * *

Their next date was at a pizzeria, after defeating a rather incompetent supervillain. He’d attempted to attack the city with an army of mind-controlled dogs; Clint had shot the mind-control device he was using, which resulted in the dogs all immediately turning on him, and in the end the Avengers had had to rescue him from his own animals. Steve hadn’t been very sympathetic; he’d seen the condition that the dogs were in, and reckoned that he didn’t blame the dogs for trying to get their own back against the man who had mistreated them. Afterwards Superwoman had cheerfully suggested pizza, and Steve had quickly agreed.

Like everywhere else, they got more than their fair share of attention at the pizzeria, but Steve thought that he was finally starting to get used to the itchy feeling of having eyes on him everywhere he went.

Between them Steve and Superwoman ate five pizzas, and for once Steve didn’t feel guilty for eating so much, not when Superwoman ate as much as he did. It meant that he was able to eat unselfconsciously, and listen easily to Superwoman talk as he ate.

“Are you really an alien?” he asked, when Superwoman paused to eat some more pizza. She swallowed, and answered.

“I am, actually, that part’s true. I ended up here when I was really little – I can’t really remember what happened, but there was some emergency and I was shoved into an escape pod and ejected, and ended up on Earth. I remember this nice couple found me wandering around and I ended up being taken to child services, and after that…”

She gave a small shrug.

“I learnt pretty quickly that other people couldn’t do what I could, even at that age. I learnt to hide my abilities, and after a while I was adopted. My parents found out about my powers eventually, but they took it pretty well. So yeah, I really am an alien,” and suddenly she was grinning, “although I’ve got to tell you, I’m not _actually_ named Kal-El.”

“Somehow I guessed that,” Steve opined dryly, and Superwoman laughed. “What is your real name, then?”

Superwoman went silent, her smile fading.

“I can’t remember,” she said finally. “I know, right, it’s terrible. But it was such a long time ago since anyone last used my birth name that eventually I forgot.”

“I’m sorry,” said Steve sincerely.

“Yeah, well, it sucks,” Superwoman conceded, “but I still have the name my adoptive parents gave me, so… it’s not all bad.” She smiled. “And life on Earth is pretty great, not gonna lie. And anyway, it’s not like I really remember being anywhere else, so there’s that.”

She took a bite of pizza.

“So, tell me something about you,” Superwoman directed in between bites. “Something the history books wouldn’t know.”

Steve thought about the question. There were so many things that people thought that they knew about him, but the important things, like the way his mother had worked herself to the bone to look after him or the time that Bucky had saved up to take them both on the rides at Coney Island, or even how Peggy had shot at him that one time, still belonged to Steve alone. Everyone had an image of him, an ideal which Steve was expected to live up to no matter how inaccurate or impossible it was.

It meant a lot that Superwoman seemed to care about getting to know _him._

“When I was about fifteen, and Prohibition had ended, I started getting thrown out of bars,” Steve said finally, and was pleased when Superwoman gave a surprised chortle. “I was only a little guy back then–”

“I’ve seen photos,” Superwoman out in, nodding.

“–but I’ve always been stubborn, and I guess some people thought I was pretty mouthy for someone my size. People’d try and pick on me, and then my pal Bucky would punch them for it, and next thing you know there’d be a full-on bar brawl going on.” Steve shrugged modestly. “Usually it ended with me and Bucky getting a black eye or a split lip and being thrown out of the bar.”

Superwoman was laughing delightedly, and Steve grinned at her, enjoying her amusement.

“And then what?” she wanted to know.

“Oh, we’d pick ourselves up, head home, and consider it a good night out,” Steve recalled, smiling wistfully at the memories. “Everyone now seems to think I was some kind of – of paragon of virtue, but me an Bucky, we were just a couple of punk kids. I got a few upgrades, that’s all.”

“Now I’m picturing smaller you with a Mohawk and a nose ring,” said Superwoman. She waved away Steve’s confused look. “Never mind. Reference to the seventies punk movement.”

“Oh,” said Steve, unsure of how to respond. Superwoman just gave him an amused smile. He decided to change the subject. “You said, last time, that you’re someone’s assistant…?”

“Yeah. My boss is a major science nerd,” said Superwoman. “Don’t ask me to explain what she does, because I have no idea how it works and it’s all classified, anyway. I just do all the paperwork and fetch coffee while everyone else does science. It’s not what I expected to be doing with my life, sure, but it pays pretty well and I like it, so why not? Besides, it gives me enough time to be Superwoman in my spare time, so.”

“It sounds interesting, at least,” said Steve.

“That it is,” Superwoman agreed. She went to grab another slice of pizza, only to find Steve had already nabbed the last slice. He smiled apologetically as she glared at him. “Chivalry is dead,” she complained.

“Sorry.”

“You can make it up to me by buying me an ice cream,” Superwoman said authoritatively. “Since you’re such nice guy and all.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed, smiling. “I could.”

“Have you even tried ice cream since you were all, you know, unfrozen?” Superwoman asked curiously. Steve shook his head. “Oh, you’re in for a treat, there are _so many_ flavours now. Come on, you’ll love it.”

As it turned out, she was right.

“You know,” said Steve, as they sat and ate their ice cream (Superwoman had gone for a simple chocolate flavour, while Steve had ended up with a scoop of mango and a scoop of lychee out of curiosity. He found that the mango was rich and flavoursome, while the lychee had a sweet, sharp taste.), “I like you a lot.”

Superwoman smiled at him.

“Really?”

“Really,” Steve confirmed.

“That’s good, because I like you a lot, too.” Superwoman leaned forward to smile at him, and Steve found himself leaning forward as well, until their lips met.

Their ice creams ended up melting everywhere and making a mess, but Steve didn’t care at all. To judge by the way she couldn’t stop smiling, Superwoman didn’t seem to mind, either.

* * *

Steve found that over the next few days, Superwoman entered his thoughts a lot. He tried to focus on other things, like SHIELD briefings or his drawings, but his attention kept wandering during the briefings and every time he tried to draw, he found himself pencilling in Superwoman’s mesmerising smile. The third time that happened Steve gave up on drawing, and decided to go for a run.

It was true that he didn’t know much about Superwoman – not even her real name – and he admitted that it was starting to bother him. He really liked this girl, and he hoped that it would work out, but so far Superwoman hadn’t given him any real hint as to her true identity. Still, it was early days yet; they’d only been on three dates, and that was if Steve counted the coffee date (which he did). Probably Superwoman would share more about herself once they’d gotten to know each other better, Steve reasoned.

Feeling a little better, Steve jogged back to Avengers Tower, his mind clearer and his mood lighter than it had been earlier.

Steve was in the process of stepping into one of the elevators in the lobby of the Tower when a voice called out, “Hey, hold the elevator!”

Steve obligingly pressed the button to hold the elevator, and Dr Foster’s assistant smiled gratefully at him as she stepped inside. She was struggling to hold an enormous box, and a tote bag was perched on top of it.

“Thanks, Star-Spangled Man,” she said brightly. “I wasn’t looking forward to waiting twenty minutes for the elevators to come back down.”

“You’re welcome,” said Steve. He nodded at the pile of objects in her arms. “Do you want some help?”

“Nah, I’ve got it. It’s not actually that heavy, it’s just really awkward to hold – oh shit –”

As she spoke, her grip shifted on the box so that it tilted slightly, and her bag went sliding off the box and onto the floor. Steve tried to catch it, but too late. Everything spilled out, all over the elevator floor – a purse, a phone, make up, and half a spandex Superwoman outfit.

Steve slowly looked up again, into the guilty face of Dr Foster’s assistant.

“Um,” she said. “I can explain…”

“Do you need to?” Steve asked carefully.

She considered the question, and then smiled uncertainly.

“Well since it’s you, I guess not. Here, hold this.” She thrust the box in Steve’s direction, and he obediently took it from her. As she knelt to pick up her stuff and put it back in her bag, Steve noted that the box was far, far heavier than he would have expected.

When she was done, Dr Foster’s assistant put her bag back on top of the box, and took it back from Steve.

“So,” said Dr Foster’s assistant. “My name’s Darcy .Darcy Lewis.” She smiled at Steve, and it was the same smile he was used to seeing beneath a domino mask.

“Steve Rogers,” he answered, smiling back.

“Yeah, I know, you’re kind of famous,” said Darcy. “Listen, I’ve just got to deliver this box of science to Stark, but then, we should probably talk.”

“That,” said Steve, “sounds like a good idea.”

* * *

“I know it’s ridiculous, dressing up like a genderswapped Superman,” said Darcy, her hands curved around her cup of coffee as she talked. She and Steve were in a small café not far from the Tower. “But I have these powers, and it seemed kind of wasteful not to use them you know what I mean? And the costume thing – it seemed funny, and you know, like a good way to keep people from taking my identity seriously. If it’s a big joke, who’s going to care who I really am, right?”

She drank a mouthful of coffee, hands still clasped around the ceramic cup.

“But then we started dating, and Jane started wondering where I kept disappearing to when I was supposed to be working, and it got more complicated.” She let out a frustrated huff of breath.

“Are you hiding your identity from everyone, or just SHIELD?” Steve asked. He understood why Darcy wanted to keep her identity a secret. He found the attention he got as Captain America more than a little overwhelming, and he was used to it.

Darcy let out a snort.

“Are you kidding? The Men In Black probably have a good idea who I am already. I mean, if I can keep it from them, that’s a bonus, but I care more about the rest of the world.”

“Have you considered telling SHIELD?” Steve suggested. “It’d probably make your job easier, if you didn’t have to explain why you were disappearing all the time.

“But then they’d probably want me to join the Avengers,” Darcy pointed out, although her gaze was speculative. “Which would be fun, and all, but I _like_ working with Jane. Crazy science is the best.”

“If you say so.”

Darcy suddenly grabbed Steve’s hand where it was resting on the table-top. Steve let his fingers curl around hers, and looked at her inquiringly.

“You know my secret identity,” Darcy said, smiling. “I guess I’d better keep you for now, huh?”

Steve pretended to think about that.

“Well, you wouldn’t want to alienate the one person who knows your secret,” he mused, and Darcy gently squeezed his hand.

“Damn straight.” She left their fingers tangled together as she used to free hand to drink her cup of coffee. She put it down, and smiled at Steve. “Hey, I had an idea. Want to see if we can astound Agent Coulson?”

“I’m agreeable,” said Steve.

“Awesome,” said Darcy. “Then next time I do hero-y stuff with the Avengers, why don’t you bring me in so I can introduce myself?” Her eyes glinted with mischief.

“Sure,” said Steve. “What, exactly, did you have in mind?”

“Well…”

* * *

The next time that the Avengers and Superwoman worked together, Superwoman went with them to SHIELD for the after-action debriefing. She was allowed into the briefing room with the rest of them, and Agent Coulson barely raised an eyebrow at her appearance.

“Welcome to SHIELD,” He offered blandly. “My name is –”

“Son of Coul!” Darcy crowed, pulling off her domino mask to grin at him. The entire room did a double-take, except for Coulson, whose eyebrows flew up, and Thor, who just stood there grinning. Steve wondered if he’d already deduced Superwoman’s identity for himself. He _was_ friends with Darcy, after all.

“ _You!_ ” Tony blurted. “ _You’re_ Superwoman, oh my God, Superwoman is Taser Girl–”

 _Taser Girl?_ Steve wondered silently.

Coulson pulled himself together before anyone else did.

“Mis Lewis,” he acknowledged, with a mild frown. “Aren’t we paying you to assist Dr Foster right at this moment?”

“Please, Jane has like three other assistants, all of whom science better than I do,” Darcy claimed, unabashed. “I’m a lot more help defeating giant monsters and evil villains. Not that I don’t want to keep working with Jane, because I totally do. Just, priorities. Besides, think of it this way – you’re paying me to do assistant work, and getting the superheroing for free!”

Coulson looked like he was developing a headache. Steve probably should have been feeling sorry for him, but as it was, he couldn’t help grinning.

“Ain’t she something?” he asked the others proudly.

“She’s _something_ , all right,” Tony snorted.

“You’re just jealous you can’t fly without a suit like she can,” Clint told him. Tony started to splutter indignant denials.

“So you’re Superwoman, huh?” Bruce asked Darcy. “Didn’t see that coming.”

“I know, eccentric poli-sci student slash hip science assistant is the perfect disguise,” Darcy told him. “I’m like Clark Kent, only cooler. I’ve even got the glasses. Although not right now, obviously.”

To everyone’s surprise, Coulson suddenly started to laugh. Everyone stared at him. He shook his head, and said in explanation, “Just thinking of the Director’s face when I explain this to him.”

“That’s going to be fun,” Natasha said dryly.

“I’m sure he’ll be glad to find out that Superwoman is already on our payroll,” Coulson agreed, “although he’s likely to have something to say about the fact that no one in this organisation picked up on it.”

“Don’t take it too hard,” said Darcy breezily, “I’m just that awesome.”

“Yeah,” said Steve softly, smiling at her. “You are.”

Tony made a face and Clint called him a sap, but Darcy was beaming at him, so Steve didn’t much care.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Is there anything else in this verse people might like to see? No promises to write anything, but I wouldn't mind some ideas.


End file.
